Foam generation and stability: role of the surfactant structure and asphaltene aggregates

摘要: Understanding how the surfactant molecular structure affects foam stability is important in various applications, such as soil remediation, the food industry, enhanced oil recovery, and hydraulic fracturing. In this study, we conduct a systematic series of experiments in a Hele–Shaw cell to assess and explain the effect of surfactants on foamability and foam stability in the absence and presence of oil and asphaltene aggregates. Four surfactants with different molecular weights were studied, including three anionic surfactants, sodium 1,5-bis[(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorohexyl)oxy]-1,5-dioxopentane-2-sulfonate (FG4), C18H37SO4Na (LSES), and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and one cationic surfactant (CTAB, (C16H33NMe3)Br). We observed that the higher electrostatic repulsion between the foam film surfaces for the anionic surfactants (FG4 > LSES > SDS) strongly influences the process of foam generation and stability …